AJ Allmendinger rises to claim Dash 4 Cash bonus at Miami

Posted on June 14, 2020June 14, 2020 by Staff Report

AJ Allmendinger scrambled to a $100,000 payday in a pair of overtime restarts Sunday, claiming the Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash bonus at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

RELATED: Official race results

Allmendinger finished fourth in the Contender Boats 250, besting the three other eligible drivers — Noah Gragson, Justin Haley and Daniel Hemric. Allmendinger earned his eligibility with his first oval-track victory June 6 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Gragson’s shot at a second straight payout ended in heartache with another late-race fade at Homestead. Saturday, he led a race-high 83 laps and wound up third after a late caution period created a lineup-shuffling restart. Sunday was a near-repeat as Gragson led 81 laps but dipped to a fifth-place finish in double overtime — just behind Allmendinger.

Gragson clinched the $100,000 prize in the opening Dash 4 Cash event, finishing second at Atlanta.

Haley — Allmendinger’s teammate with Kaulig Racing — finished sixth. Hemric dropped from contention on the first overtime attempt as a multicar crash with Riley Herbst and Michael Annett sent his No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet into the inside retaining wall, ending his day in 31st place. Allmendinger was also involved as Herbst veered in front of his No. 16 Chevrolet on the backstretch.

Two more Xfinity Series races remain in the Dash 4 Cash bonus program: Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway and June 28 at Pocono Raceway. Allmendinger, Chase Briscoe, Brandon Jones and Ross Chastain are the four drivers eligible for the $100,00 prize at Talladega.

Posted on June 14, 2020June 14, 2020 by Holly Cain

Chase Briscoe delivered a clutch restart in double overtime to hold off a hard-charging Brandon Jones at the finish line and earn the victory in Sunday’s Contender Boats 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

It was a feel-good ending to a challenging weekend for Briscoe, who had to make up six laps in Saturday’s Xfinity race to score a seventh-place finish, and then had to race without his fulltime crew chief and car chief on Sunday as they served a penalty from infractions on Saturday.

RELATED: Race results | 2020 Xfinity schedule

Stewart-Haas Racing executive Greg Zipadelli, who led team owner Tony Stewart to a pair of NASCAR Cup Series championships, manned the pit box in their absence, earning his first career Xfinity Series victory atop the pit box. Zipadelli stepped in for crew chief Richard Boswell, who was one of three SHR crew members suspended for a ballast violation in pace laps before Saturday’s race.

“That was a team win for sure,” said Briscoe, who led 11 laps to earn his fifth career victory and third of the season. “Yesterday we were so good and then today, I don’t know if it was the heat or what, we just weren’t very good. We were decent on the long run, but the 9 (Noah Gragson) was definitely better. Just a testament to all the guys at Stewart-Haas Racing.”

It was a wild ending to a day that mostly featured a master class by the JR Motorsports driver Gragson, who led the most laps (83 on Saturday, 81 on Sunday) both days and was meters from taking the white flag in regulation — with a nearly 2-second lead on the field — when third-place Austin Cindric spun out, bringing out a caution.

Briscoe’s No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford beat Gragson’s Chevrolet out of the pits during the ensuing stop and was able to hold off the weekend’s most dominant driver on the first restart when another caution came out for a wreck just a couple rows behind the leader.

Briscoe jumped out to the lead on the next restart, too, having to get by Jones this time and hold off the Joe Gibbs Racing driver at the line by a mere .072-seconds.

Ross Chastain finished third, just in front of his Kaulig Racing teammate AJ Allmendinger, who earned the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus money. Allmendinger outran three other drivers — fifth-place Gragson, teammate Haley in sixth and 31st-place Daniel Hemric — eligible for the bonus. Gragson had claimed the six-figure payday the previous weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

MORE: Allmendinger scurries to Dash 4 Cash prize

The incentive program moves to Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway next week and drivers Briscoe, Jones, Chastain and Allmendinger will be eligible to win the next $100,000 bonus there.

Gragson, who dominated both races of the NASCAR Xfinity Series weekend doubleheader, settled for fifth after falling back on the second restart. He was silent on his team radio on the cool-down lap, clearly disappointed and frustrated.

“I don’t know what to tell you, you worked extremely hard and I’m proud of our effort,” his crew chief David Elenz told him as the field came back into the garage after the race.

Haley, Myatt Snider, Harrison Burton, Riley Herbst and Cindric rounded out the top 10. Harrison Burton, who rallied from a flat tire with seven laps left in regulation, has finished in the top 10 in every race this season. He becomes the first rookie in Xfinity history to start his first full season with 10 consecutive top 10s, breaking the mark of nine set by Carl Edwards in 2005.

Ryan Sieg won the opening stage – the second straight day he won a stage – and Gragson won the second stage – his series-leading fifth stage win of the season.

Gragson, who has top-five finishes in the last four races, holds an 18-point edge over Briscoe in the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship standings.

The Xfinity Series’ next race is the Unhinged 300, scheduled Saturday (5:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, Sirius) at Talladega Superspeedway. It will mark the third of four races in the 2020 Dash 4 Cash program.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on June 14, 2020June 14, 2020 by Staff Report

NASCAR Cup Series driver Austin Dillon and wife Whitney welcomed their first child, the couple revealed on social media Sunday. The baby’s name is Ace RC Dillon.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBa0uV9noD2/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Dillon, who drives the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, explained the meaning behind his son’s name after he and Whitney picked it back in February.

“‘RC’ obviously is for my grandfather,” Dillon said. “My logo has always been the Ace of Spades and my grandfather always said ‘ace in the hole.’ So, I was like this is a good time to make my kid the ace in the hole and hopefully he’s better than me.”

Married in 2017, the two announced they were expecting late last year in December with a photoshoot at Charlotte Motor Speedway, site of Dillon’s first career NASCAR Cup Series victory in the 2017 Coca-Cola 600. He has two Cup victories to date with the second coming in the 2018 Daytona 500.

As Dillon mentioned in the post, he still planned to race Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on June 14, 2020June 14, 2020 by PJ Walsh

The Action Network specializes in providing sports betting insights/analytics and is a content partner with NASCAR. Check out more NASCAR betting analysis here.

After 500 laps around the half-mile Martinsville Speedway on Wednesday night, the NASCAR Cup Series is back in action at the Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday.

Not having practice since NASCAR’s return from the COVID-19 pandemic has made handicapping race winners more difficult than normal, but the return to a 1.5-mile racetrack provides us more recent data to lean on.

Last weekend, the Cup Series raced at Atlanta Motor Speedway, a high tire-wear 1.5-mile circuit just like Miami, so this is an important race to analyze.

In addition, we’ll also look at performances in The Real Heroes 500 at Darlington Raceway back on May 17 because that track also wears out tires quickly and, more importantly, the tire combination used in that event will be the same combination used on Sunday at Miami.

I’m specifically interested in data from The Real Heroes 500 as opposed to the Toyota 500, which took place three days later at Darlington, as the first event was run in the heat of the day, while the Wednesday race ran at night on a cooler racetrack.

Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 is also a day race, so I want to know which cars were best on a hot, slick track at Darlington as that will be much more similar to what the drivers experience at Miami.

After looking at historical Miami data, as well as recent results from Atlanta and Darlington, here are two drivers I’m betting for the Dixie Vodka 400.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter (@PJWalsh24) for any additional bets I make for Miami.

NASCAR at Miami Odds, Betting Picks

Odds as of Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET and via DraftKings. Get up to a $1,000 sign-up bonus at DraftKings today or see more offers and reviews for the best online sportsbooks.

Kevin Harvick (+500) to win at Miami

With Tyler Reddick already in tow at 70-1, I’m passing on the mid-tier and going right for my two favorites to win the race — the first of which is Kevin Harvick.

Here are Harvick’s stats from the two day races run at high tire-wear tracks since NASCAR’s return: two wins, best driver rating, best average running position, most laps led and most fast laps run.

And here are Harvick’s finishes at Miami since joining Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014: first, second, third, fourth, third and fourth.

Martin Truex Jr. (+500) to win at Miami

While Harvick was the best driver in the heat of the day at Darlington and Atlanta, Truex was clearly the second-best performer.

Over those two races, Truex is tied for the second-best average finish, has run the second-most fast laps, has led the third-most laps and posted the second-best driver rating.

Just like Harvick, Truex has also been a rocket ship at Miami, including finishes of first, second and second over his last three races with the most fast laps run in last year’s event, which is significant because it’s the same aero package the Cup Series will run Sunday.

And finally, since Truex won Wednesday night at Martinsville he’ll have the best pit stall at Miami, which will only help his cause.

Posted on June 13, 2020June 13, 2020 by Staff Report

NASCAR officials penalized the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 98 Ford team after Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, issuing four-race suspensions for three team members.

RELATED: Race results | Xfinity Series standings

Chase Briscoe drove the No. 98 Ford to a seventh-place finish in Saturday’s Hooters 250, but the car dropped ballast during pace laps, delaying the start and forcing Briscoe to lose several laps for repairs. The safety violation falls under Section 12.5.2.7.4.d of the NASCAR Rule Book.

The infraction means four-race bans for No. 98 crew chief Richard Boswell, car chief Nick Hutchins and engineer DJ Vanderley.

With the Xfinity Series set to resume Sunday as part of a weekend doubleheader for the tour, the suspensions are to take effect starting with Sunday’s Contender Boats 250 (noon ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM).

Posted on June 13, 2020June 13, 2020 by Holly Cain

It almost appeared that Kyle Busch having to start last – and going a lap down – in Saturday night’s Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway was akin to the NASCAR Gander & RV Outdoors Truck Series all-time winningest driver giving everyone a head-start.

But even that challenge wasn’t enough to keep Busch from victory. He added to his record series win total – extending that mark of excellence to 58 trophies, taking the checkered flag 2.847 seconds ahead of Tyler Ankrum, then Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott and Johnny Sauter in a dramatic final restart with six laps remaining.

Todd Gilliland, Austin Hill, Christian Eckes, Matt Crafton and Ty Majeski completed the top 10.

RELATED: Official race results

As the race played out, with a caution coming out with 12 laps to go, some drivers were able to pit for brand-new tires and others – such as Busch – put on a barely-worn set, making for a suspenseful final restart that did not disappoint. Busch was able to hold off the field – prevailing in a three-wide fight for the lead – and earn his third career win at the Homestead 1.5-miler.

“You’re always concerned about tires being better and having the opportunity to out-show you, but I felt like six laps was just the right amount, any more than that and it probably would have been a different outcome,” said Busch, who drove the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota.

“I knew the Cessna Beechcraft Toyota Tundra here was going to be awesome. Thanks to TRD and Rowdy Energy, everybody that helps us here and makes us so fast and want to say thanks to Big Machine Hand Sanitizer as well, they were on the quarter panel the last two weeks and we didn’t win and now they’re not here and we won.”

Busch was originally penalized for failing inspection – forced to start last in the 38-truck field then take a “drive through” penalty through the pits on the first lap. While he was starting to make his way up through the field, the defending Homestead winner and Saturday night’s pole-sitter Austin Hill took control of the race.

Hill, Florida native Ross Chastain and Grant Enfinger fought for the early-race advantage and Chastain earned the opening stage victory. Busch was ninth on the ensuing restart and moved to second place in only one lap, ultimately taking the lead for the first time on Lap 39 of the 134-lap race.

MORE: Homestead-Miami weekend schedule

Chastain won the opening stage, and Busch rallied from his early race deficit to win the second stage.

Busch held the point easily through caution periods and challenges – leading Hill by 3.5 seconds with 40 laps remaining. When a final caution came out for Jordan Anderson’s truck with 12 to go – most of the leaders pitted for tires and those such as Ankrum and Elliott, who had brand-new sets made up a lot of ground and earned top-five finishes.

Busch collects his 211th NASCAR national series victory — most all-time. It was also Kyle Busch Motorsports’ sixth series win at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Toyota’s 11th series win at the 1.5-mile track.

Hill extended his points lead to 44 points over Eckes and 48 points up on two-time 2020 winner Enfinger in third.

The series will next be in action on June 27 at Pocono Raceway for the Pocono Organics 150 to benefit Farm Aid (12:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). This will be the sixth race of the 2020 season.

Note: The No. 44 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet of Chastain was missing one lug nut in a post-race check.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on June 13, 2020June 13, 2020 by Zack Albert

Dale Earnhardt Jr. admitted to carrying a bundle of nerves in the days leading up to his lone NASCAR Xfinity Series race of the season, saying that the mix of anticipation and anxiety made him “difficult to be around.” Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, he made the most of this year’s one shot, then contemplated how many more he might have.

Earnhardt finished fifth in Saturday’s Hooters 250, completing a competitive drive in a two-lap dash to the end in the JR Motorsports No. 8 Chevrolet. He led four laps and stayed entrenched among the top five and top 10 for the majority of the sweltering day at the 1.5-mile Florida track.

The 45-year-old driver retired from full-time competition with his final NASCAR Cup Series start at Homestead back in 2017. But since then, he’s stayed involved through ownership of his JR Motorsports operation, which has fielded cars for Earnhardt once a year as a driver-owner.

The results have been staggeringly consistent — fourth at Richmond in 2018, fifth at Darlington last year and Saturday’s fifth-place run. But Earnhardt wondered aloud how many more of these might be on his schedule, as he balances team ownership with his roles as an NBC Sports broadcaster and a husband and father of two.

“I think right now it’s just going to stay the same,” Earnhardt said. “I don’t want to do any more, that’s for sure. I can say that with confidence. I don’t know how many more of these I’ll do. This might be the last one, and this ain’t no tease or anything like that. I’m not trying to be annoying about that. It’s a lot of a commitment, and I just … I don’t know. It’s getting to the point to where I’ve got to decide whether I’m helping things or I’m not helping the team, how can I help the team in other ways. I don’t know.

“I really enjoy it. I really do, but I think there’s got to be a point to where I decide to make the change to broadcasting entirely. With that said, being in the car today, I certainly learned a ton that’s going to help me in the (broadcast) booth. I’ve just got to think about it, and I certainly don’t want to run more. One is plenty and it’s a great series. We’ll just see how it goes. I guess it’s a tough question to answer.”

Earnhardt showed little signs of rust in his first race since last August, even without practice or qualifying with COVID-19 protocols still in place for essential personnel. The feeling of anticipation didn’t fully fade until he rolled off in pace laps and settled into a rhythm. That groove had him poised to finish as high as second until a late caution shuffled the order.

“I thought I knew what the drivers’ mindset might be in these type of situations over the last several weeks with no laps, no practice, just a lot of pressure,” Earnhardt said. “But I really underestimated it. It’s harder than I thought. It’s more anxiety than I imagined, so I was a little difficult to be around the last couple days, just having the anxiety of it. Leading up to getting in the car, I started feeling better, I guess, once they fired the motor and starting messing with things in the car. … I really started feeling comfortable at that point, but I worked myself up for the last 72 hours.”

The next 72 hours for Earnhardt will wind up with finding out whether he’ll be included in the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021. Earnhardt indicated he plans to record his “Dale Jr. Download” podcast Tuesday, reacting in real time to the release of the results at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

“Whether we are chosen to go into the Hall of Fame or not, I’m already honored and I think it’ll be a fun experience to sort of document through our podcast,” Earnhardt said. “I’ve said this from the start and I really feel it in my heart that everybody on that list belongs in there, and it doesn’t seem like at this point that there’s one more deserving than the other. To that respect, I’m young enough to wait my turn, and there’s a lot of names that are not on that list that need to be on that list, and we’re all going to argue that every year. But I’m just honored already.”

Posted on June 13, 2020June 13, 2020 by Holly Cain

Harrison Burton prevailed in a three-wide, frantic push to the checkered flag to win Saturday’s Hooters 250 on a restart with only two laps remaining in the first event of a NASCAR Xfinity Series doubleheader weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The 19-year old series rookie Burton edged Austin Cindric and Noah Gragson by .379-seconds – leading only the final two laps on the day – to earn his second career victory of the season and become the track’s youngest series race winner.

“I’m so excited, that’s so awesome,” said Burton, who drives the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. “I gave away the lead in the first restart in the same position and I didn’t really want to do that again. I knew the nine (Gragson) was going to drive in real deep and slide up so I felt good about that.

“I’m proud of my guys, we worked on this thing so hard every day, every run I should say and made it better and better. What a day to get this Dex Imaging Toyota Supra in Victory Lane. They can keep on doubting us and we’re going to keep on coming back.”

“What a race, man. This track is so much fun and really puts it in the driver’s hands, especially at the end there. I’m just ready to go again tomorrow, to be honest with you. I’m ready to get two.”

Anthony Alfredo finished fourth, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was making his first NASCAR Xfinity Series start since Aug. 31 of last year at Darlington Raceway. Michael Annett finished sixth and Chase Briscoe turned in a valiant seventh-place effort after going down six laps at the race start. Burton’s JGR teammate Brandon Jones, Ross Chastain and another JGR rookie, Riley Herbst, rounded out the top 10.

It was an especially rough outcome for Gragson, who led the most laps on the day – 83 of 167- and held a five-second lead on the field before the caution came out with only five laps remaining.

“It was tough,” Gragson said. “The No. 9 guys at JR Motorsports had really great pit stops all day. Restarts were just the biggest struggle. I was really proud of my restarts here last year here, but just couldn’t get them going [today].

“I thought we were going to be able to come home with the win today running the top. That was so much fun.”

It was certainly an exciting race in the hot Florida afternoon sun with 23 lead changes – often multiple cars involved in a single lap. Gragson, Cindric, Florida native Ross Chastain and fan-favorite Earnhardt – who hadn’t raced in the Xfinity Series at Homestead since 2008 – led laps at various times in a thrilling highlycompetitive day.

Briscoe, who led the championship standings coming into the race, had a mechanical problem before the green flag and sat in the pits for the opening six laps. Disappointing, for sure, but it made for a dramatic and impressive comeback for the Stewart-Haas Racing driver who made up all but one lap by the start of Stage 2. He stayed out as long as possible during the final stage, running with 20-lap older tires than the race leaders. He was sixth with 20 laps remaining hoping for a caution flag that would have let them pit and stay on the lead lap. But he was ultimately forced to come in for fresh rubber with 17 laps remaining and still raced to a top 10. He finished seventh and dropped to 18-points behind new leader Gragson in the championship standings.

Ryan Sieg earned his second career stage win, taking the opening stage victory by pitting four fresh tires on a caution period and sprinting by the race leaders who did not pit at that point. Gragson won the second stage.

The series will race again Sunday at noon in the Contender Boats 250 (12 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR) in a Dash 4 Cash incentivized race with $100,000 up for grabs among last week’s Atlanta winner A.J. Allmendinger, Gragson, Justin Haley and Daniel Hemric. The top four drivers from Sunday’s race will be eligible for $100,000 bonus on June 20 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

Note: The Nos. 19 (Brandon Jones, finished eighth), 11 (Justin Haley, finished 13th) and 26 (Colin Garrett, finished 21st) each had one lug nut not safe and secure.

Posted on June 13, 2020 by Staff Report

NASCAR announced Saturday morning the Cup Series will no longer hold practice at Talladega Superspeedway before the GEICO 500 on June 21.

The original weekend schedule included a practice June 20, the Saturday prior to Sunday’s main event. That will no longer be the case, as NASCAR officials think the current format with no qualifying or practice is working well and has still created competitive racing.

NASCAR has been hosting one-day events since it returned to racing after the COVID-19 outbreak paused the three national series’ 2020 schedules. The sport postponed all events starting in March and began making them up in May.

The GEICO 500 will be a 188-lap, 500-mile race June 21 at 3 p.m. ET (FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on June 12, 2020 by Terrin Waack

As he recalled a story, Bubba Wallace struggled to remember what day he received a text message he wanted to share with the group. It came sometime after the NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway, he knew that for sure. Whether it was Wednesday or Thursday, though, he went back and forth.

The race was Wednesday night. The text was Thursday morning.

“My days are running together,” Wallace said Friday on a Zoom teleconference. “You can see how mentally taxing this is.”

Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

As the only African American driver currently in the NASCAR Cup Series, the 26-year-old is a leader within the racing community amid ongoing discussions about social injustice. He called for the sanctioning body to ban confederate flags at events and properties, which it followed through on within days. He drove a #BlackLivesMatter paint scheme this week in Virginia, where he finished a career-best 11th at the Virginia short track. And he wore a “I CAN’T BREATHE” T-shirt in honor of George Floyd on national TV during pre-race ceremonies, paired with an American flag face mask due to COVID-19 precautions.

Wallace put himself in the spotlight and it has admittedly placed a lot of weight on his shoulders – one he’s willing to bear.

“It’s part of the pedestal you sign up for,” Wallace said. “It doesn’t say that on the front page of the book of being an athlete or an icon in the sport. It doesn’t say that on the front page of what you have to go through. It’s just part of it. It’s in the fine print, the underline print there that you have to go through.

“When you sign up to become something, you’re signing up to become something larger than yourself. Represent something more than yourself.”

So now Wallace feels like he is balancing two jobs: race-car driver and social-injustice voice.

“I would say off the track is a lot busier, a lot more hectic,” said Wallace, driver of the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet. “Thankful for no practice or the three-day shows we’re used to because I’d be wiped out by practice time. So it’s good to kind of just stay focused on this throughout the week, but you definitely have to do a quick shift – a mind shift – going into the race. It’s challenging, but I’m learning every step of the way.”

Wallace is actually having his best season to date so far.

Through 11 races, Wallace is averaging a 20.1 finish, highlighted by two top-10 finishes. At this point last year, his finishing average was a 26.9. His rookie season saw a 20.6 average finish in the same amount of time, which albeit is close to his current stat line but featured a runner-up finish in the Daytona 500 for padding.

Wallace has only had three finishes worse than 21st in 2020. At the same point in the season, he had nine in 2019 and five in 2018.

Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

“As much as we talk about racing, you kind of get lost in the translation of what’s going on today, so it’s nice to talk about it a little bit,” Wallace said. “My guys have done a really good job. Everybody at Richard Petty Motorsports, ever since we were allowed back into the shops, they’ve been busting their tails to get our Camaros competitive and fast. … I’m proud of the efforts we’re doing on the race track, and I’m super thankful for what they’re doing off the race track to support me. From Richard Petty to Andy Murstein, everybody at RPM is standing behind me and believing in me on track and also following me through this journey off track and letting me find my way and find my voice in standing up for what’s right.”

Wallace is exhausted. Physically, the NASCAR Cup Series is facing its most demanding schedule as it makes up the eight races postponed during the COVID-19 outbreak with midweek events. Mentally, he’s speaking out more than ever to anyone who wants to talk about the current real-world issues. It’s, quite frankly, a lot for one person.

All it takes, though, is remembering why he feels the way he does to keep going.

“There’s a poster of a little girl that says, ‘Yes, we said Black Lives Matter. No, we did not say only black lives matter. We know that all lives matter,’ ” Wallace said. “But we’re trying to make (everyone) understand that black lives matter, too. Too. T-O-O. It’s the three letters left off people don’t understand. Black lives matter, too.”